Birkdale with the Pros

July 15, 2012
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“The rough is the worst for 30 years,” we hear on the putting green. At the same time Bubba Watson and Jeff Ogilvy drive off from the 1st – a friendly practice round before the Open. An hour later it’s time for LINKS75. “Are you Bill Haas?”. We look dumbfounded when his caddie for the […]

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Leasowe as a Starter

July 14, 2012
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We begin with True Links. Leasowe – neighbour to Wallasay. Already at 11 am, the first members begin to register scores from the day’s round. We seek good advice – “Keep away from the rough”. Advice that proves to be more accurate than expected. The bartender tells us that it has been raining for months […]

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Royal Belgian

July 10, 2012
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With the English Channel as a backdrop we head for Belgium’s only links course. King Leopald, at the end of the 1800s, wanted to attract English tourists and hired Seymour Dunn to design Royal Ostend. The course is immersed in history. Twice the club house has burnt to the ground and the course has been […]

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Royal St David’s – Par 69

June 4, 2012
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Following on from three ongoing competitions, one of which has been played over 100 times, we drive off the first tee. In the bar – where else? – at Aberdovey we have heard it said, “the par 4s are long enough to cover Greece’s debts”, and “the rough is tough enough.” We keep strictly to […]

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Pennard in the Mist

June 3, 2012
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After the sun comes the rain. Nature’s elements come into their own at Pennard. The fairways are yellow and hard as stone. “When you thought you have hit the perfect drive – it suddenly bounces off”, says the waitress that serves us lunch in the bar. Just as we are about to start the air […]

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Dinbych-y-pysgod

June 3, 2012
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We peer into a black and white screen, just like Swedish television 1973, before we drive over the 1st hole’s marker post at Tenby Golf Club. The 3rd is an amazingly difficult par 4 that demands inbred knowledge of how to play an approach to a green with steep slopes on both sides. The 4th- […]

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The Fear of Borth & Ynyslas

June 3, 2012
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Four holes on the same side of the road as the clubhouse and 14 on the other side. When we signed the insurance, “that covers everything and includes 4 holes”, we begin to think of snap hooks and shanks and golf’s strange ways in particular. Classic opening and closing stretches 9 out – 9 in. […]

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Rain and Wind at Aberdovey

June 3, 2012
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In the pro-shop the telephone rings hot as members cancel their tee-off times.   We buy sou’westers, put on our rain gear and empty our bags of everything except clubs and balls.  Aberdovey is imbedded in a fantastic landscape of sand dunes, with one massive, final dune protecting it from the raging sea. A wonderful links […]

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